1w ago

Can't think of what to do, hence scrolling

Scrolling
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Sleep
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Go back to sleep because can't think of what to do
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Wake up
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Still can't think of anything to do ^(cba to wait for inspiration)
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Scrolling

This is what my weekends look like when I fail to find an event to go to in time.

The problem is that most tasks require

Inspiration, which it usually takes several minutes of staring into the void (fun!) and waiting for an idea to get.
Structure. I think this is broken in my brain because whenever I need to structure a task it's super tiring, and that's why I always revert to scrolling, which is unstructured. In scrolling the need to plan is replaced by an impulsive response to whatever happens to appear on your feed.

What does the diagram even look like for normal people? When do they get inspiration? How do they decide that now is the time to do thing no. xyz? What do I do about it hurting to structure free time activities (I've found strategies to navigate cooking etc)? Is there an alternative structureless passtime* to scrolling?

*(I'm actually able to structure when I do things with other people, but there are days when nobody's around which leaves me helpless)

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21 comments

What has helped me is taking notes. I use Obsidian for note taking (I don't mean the app itself is the solution, just the one that works for me).
When I'm out and about I take notes whenever I think of something "oh, I should probably look into this book!" Or "make an app to do X and Y".
When I'm at home and I have nothing better to do I tidy up my notes. Sometimes doing this is an entertainment in itself, and sometimes this reminds me that I wanted to watch a certain movie and it's a great day for that.
I rarely get bored anymore because I capture the fleeting ideas I get through the day, and I'd need years to carry them all to fruition. On a given day reviewing my notes I might be interested only in 1 out of 10... But that's still one idea that keeps me busy and entertained, and then it's also something fulfilling because I've chosen it mindfully, unlike scrolling tiktok endlessly or watching whatever slop Netflix's algorithm force feeds me that day.
- That sounds good. I often revert to scrolling when my brain is tired and can't be asked to plan any tasks (so I do scrolling which is structureless and without a plan). What would you replace that with? Did you say that browsing through your notes fills that function?
  
  Yeah it does. I mark notes with #review (again, this is an obsidian-specific workflow purely because it's the app I use), and then go through the notes with that tag, tidying them up and also looking for interesting things. Obsidian has a graph view which shows your notes as interconnected notes, which I look into and try to find disconnected notes to link them to something else. I find it quite rewarding and relaxing.
  
  Fascinating.
  
  Yeah the problem with scrolling is that it's designed to keep you scrolling. You could put on a TV show instead. Either you'll get sucked in and watch it or you'll get bored and want to do something else. As long as you don't get stuck scrolling, you can decide what you'd rather do.

21 comments